Ng Woon Woon: Phoenix Ignite!

Woon Woon is the Cheerleading Captain of Phoenix. A medical student in her third semester, she is actively involved in extracurricular activities as a Student Ambassador and also as a member of the MAPCU Track and Field Team.

The final cheerleading competition is this Friday! How are you feeling right now? What is your goal for the team?

Very excited! Initially, I was more focused on winning the match. However, as the competition date gets closer, I tended to put more emphasis on the bonding sessions we shared. I hope we can perform our best during the competition and no injuries will occur. Winning will be a bonus!

Would you share some of your experiences with the team? What is the most interesting part of the training sessions?

I love bonding with my teammates! We practice together almost everyday, we help each other to improve, and we are like family, really.

What obstacles have you faced throughout the process?

So far, no major injuries have happened in my team. All the members are awesome! One issue we faced was the lack of mats – we hope IMU can provide us with more practice mats in the future. There is also a lot of extra work to be done because we need to adhere to the new safety guidelines. For example, we need to make video recordings of the stunts we plan to do in order to get approval from the university before we can begin official practice.

Is there anything you wish to share with the other students?

University life is not just about studying! Join some extracurricular activities! You will definitely learn a thing or two, and meet amazing people!

Cheerleading teams in IMU usually start preparing for their competitions as early four months before it. A cheerleading routine, although short, requires weeks of planning and experimenting within a unit and as a whole team before it can be executed perfectly with all members hitting cheerleading stunts on the exact same count. Injuries, big or small, are also extremely common during practice sessions. Practice sessions one month prior to competition happen 3-4 times a week lasting 4 hours or more. Like many things, cheerleading is a stressful but exceedingly rewarding sport, so do come and show your support!